Who am I and who do I work for?

Good morning! I hope you're enjoying your weekend. My journey continues as I make every attempt to accomplish my big hairy audacious goal of a blog a day. So far so good! Who am I and who do I work for?

My name is Paul McFadden. I was born in Moscow, Idaho and raised in Pullman, Washington. The baby doctor in Moscow delivered about half of the Pullman kids born at that time. Pullman is a small town and it defined who I am. Call me naiive but I still think a person's word means something. I like to think if you shake someone's hand and look them in the eye, it's a done deal. Several people I know are very protective of me. They know how trusting I am and want to make sure I don't get taken. I would rather trust and believe in the good nature of a person.

My years after leaving Pullman were spent largely in the Seattle area going to college at the University of Washington and then to work in a variety of sales positions. Through it, I've managed to make and maintain wonderful friendships and relationships. Before I got into the mortgage business (more on that in a bit), I worked in the clothing industry for 17 years.

I entered the mortgage business in 2006. Boy, was it different then! I took the advice of a couple of great friends of mine who thought I'd be good at it. I really had no idea. I just took the plunge. Initially I ended up with a small company with a bunch of youngsters that was doing extremely well. My start was inauspicious. I didn't have friends or  family to rely on and it took a year before I figured out how to define my business.

The turning point for me was when I joined The Legacy Group one year ago. It was the best move I've ever made. I consider myself lucky to be part of the team. The Legacy Group is privately and employee-owned with over 200 employees and growing. The goal is to hit 350 within a couple of years. It's interesting how great companies attract great people. This is very true of my company. It's attracting the top of the top. What do I feel are the secrets to Legacy's success? One, there is a huge emphasis on building relationships and everyone is pulling together. In a business where money is king, it's amazing to me how little it's talked about at my company. Rather, the emphasis is on providing value to our clients. Needless to say, we just had a huge year and I expect even better in 2010!

As we go forward, I'm excited about the future. It's a little scary in our business as we're always having to start over. But I have no excuses and am prepared to pay the price. So who are you and who do you work for? I'd like to hear why you're doing what you do and why you're working where you work. Thanks for reading. Have a great day and I wish you all the best in 2010!